Harrison Hug: The Hug that Circled the World

This has been the year of death and tears for me and certainly a year I hope never to repeat. My mother, best friend, and now Sasha, my beloved canine companion all died this year. I put Sasha to sleep to release her from further suffering. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my entire life. I cried oceans of tears that I never knew I had.

In less than a week Sasha was diagnosed with a liver tumor that spread to her spleen and kidney failure. Not a pretty picture. It was only going to get worse. I knew it was the end when Sasha couldn’t even keep water down. I don’t know where I got the strength, but I knew I had to help take her out of her misery.

As I was clutching Sasha in the last hour of her life and made the final decision to take her to the vet, I felt so alone and like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. My emotions were raw. Who was I to play God? Who was I to decide who should live or die? Boy, did I need a hug to get me through this ordeal.

Enter, Louise Harrison, sister of the late Beatle George Harrison and AT & T. I called Louise sobbing about my precious Sasha and told her I really needed a “Harrison Hug” now. And with AT & T’s help, Louise reached out and touched me, “Here,” she said, “I’m giving you a Harrison Hug over the telephone.”

Last summer, I met Louise in Branson, MO at Liverpool Legends, the fantastic Beatles Revival show she manages. Somehow, we just clicked on a spiritual level when Louise was drawn to my crystal Buddha charm. I told her the Dalai Lama blessed it, and she asked if she could hold it.

“Let me give you a Harrison Hug,” Louise said when we said our goodbyes. I was one of the lucky ones to get a Harrison Hug. Over the years the Harrison Hug has circled the world helping heal many souls. Louise says it was a way of keeping George’s name and legend alive.

“One of the last times towards the end when George hugged me, he said, ‘pass it on’, after he died, I thought why not pass along his hug to console other people,” Louise explained. And now Louise shares the Harrison Hug with people she hand picks and instructs them to pass it along. Louise mentions a letter sent from a woman in Argentina who wrote how ecstatic she was to receive a Harrison Hug on her birthday.

The Harrison Hug sure came in handy and helped me over the hump giving me the strength to make that dreaded drive and Sasha’s last ride to the vet. I guess you could say I had a little help from a friend to get me through this traumatic ordeal. And so, Louise is right, when she says, “George’s love is circulating the globe.”